Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 7.2
The relationship between drainage basin area and extreme flood discharge.
Source:
Rodier and Roche 1984.
in 1998 (135 confirmed deaths) and in Germany,
Poland and the Czech Republic in 1997 (a total
of 128 casualties in the three countries). And the
damage from floods has increased through time as
assets in floodplains have risen in value (Parker
1995).
hazards—that come from differential vulnerability
are often related to the damage inflicted by the
flood event and the ability of flood victims to
recover after the floods have subsided. This ability
to recover—or
resilience
(Handmer and Dovers
1996)—is often related to the victims' wealth/
poverty status, or their experience of similar flood
events in the past, or a combination of these
factors.
The relationship between flood experience, the
impacts of floods and the vulnerability of human
populations generated the 'school' of hazard
geography studying the 'hazard-response model'
of human adjustment to many hazards (Burton
et
al
. 1993, Mitchell
et al
. 1989, Hewitt 1997). This
model, pioneered by Kates (1962), posits that the
response of human populations to reduce the
impacts of floods results from their heightened
perception of the hazards that they face due to
increased knowledge or experience. Without
Concepts used to analyse flood hazards
The impacts of floods on humans has been studied
from many different perspectives. The
magnitude
of flood events is usually related to their discharge
in the fluvial context and the extent of coastal
flooding. The
risk
of flooding brings in concepts
of probability and
return period
(the average length
of time in years between floods of comparable
magnitude) (Hood
et al
. 1992)
. Hazard
is a
combination of the geophysical event (which by
itself is not hazardous) and human
vulnerability
. T h e
differential impacts of floods—and other
